Warning: This 2-minute Parenting Film May Require Tissues
Lights, Camera, Action! A few weeks ago, my two youngest boys were soooo sad to miss school for two whole days to star in a short film by the production company Seventh Story as a promo for an upcoming Lifeway parenting conference called "Etch." I got t ...
My Interview with “Red”- a Corner Newspaper Salesman
My trunk is full of groceries as I pull up to the corner and turn on my blinker. Out of the corner of my eye I see a man standing near me, leaning on a cane, wearing a black coat and a hat to ward off the cold wind. He’s selling newspapers for $1. I rea ...
“Say What?” The 5 Levels of Listening
“Amazing, simply amazing. Melt-in-your mouth. Your mama was a keeper.” Beth watched her dad’s mouth move, describing the delectable German chocolate cakes her mom used to bake, but all she could think was, “He’s a diabetic! He should not be talking about ...
Peri’s 50th Birthday Bash
“Cargo pants, hiking boots, and a sweater with flair. I want to look like a hip outdoorswoman for my birthday party.” Peri had a vision, and I was determined to help make it happen. I ran the 4 doors down to my house and brought back a bag of sweaters. ...
Peri’s Audacious Goal for 2014
Her blue eyes are full of courage, full of hope. My friend and neighbor, Peri, sits in the hospital bed that has been set up in her bedroom, writing out her goals for 2014 on a tablet. She lists things like finishing her scrapbooks and celebrating her 5 ...
Choosing Goodbye
Today marks the first day of National Hereditary Breast & Ovarian Cancer Week. It also marks the three-year anniversary of a monumental event in my life- the day I opted to undergo a preventative mastectomy because of my own hereditary risk of cancer ...
Stranded at the Laundromat
With 6 clean sleeping bags and 2 comforters, I push my piled-high cart through the parking lot and pull the handle of the side door of our minivan to start loading. It won't open. That's odd. We just spent our lifesavings to get the only-helpful-when-the ...
The Beauty of Now
“Come, quickly!” I follow my mother-in-law out her back door in Wisconsin to a neighboring patio. On a table sits a cactus, bursting with glorious light pink blooms. “It only blooms for one day,” she explains. “How incredible that we happened to be h ...
Memories, How They (Don’t) Linger
It's Sunday morning. I open my eyes at 7:45. For a mother of four boys, that’s sleeping in. And it's fabulously gloriously wonderful. As I get ready for church, my husband, Brian, makes me a delicious veggie omelet – my favorite- and sets it on the bat ...
Divine Adventures
My mom and I loved adventures. Whether it was a spontaneous invitation to tea by a spunky senior, a wrong turn that led to a tree-lined street of cherry blossoms, or a quirky storyteller met on a hike, we ate up every adventure together like giddy, spark ...